QLN Sonora.
Choosing new speakers after 20 years
I am in the market to replace my B&W CDM9NT's which I have owned for 20 years. They have served me very well over the years with my only complaint the famed bright Nautilus tweeter, which is manageable with the right cables and equipment. Anyway, this year I basically bought all new equipment, except for the B&W. My system is simple:
PrimaLuna EVO 300 integrated with Shunyata Venon NR V10 PC
Chord Qutest DAC
Innuos Zen mkIII streamer/server with Shunyata Venon NR V12 PC
Purist Audio Venustas Luminist revision bi-wire speaker cable
Cardas Clear Cygnus RCA IC
I don't have many CD's left as we had a break-in a couple years ago shortly after our home was finished and before the basement was finished and they took boxes of my CD's and SACD's. So instead of purchase a new CD player and CD's I got into streaming. I listen to a LOT of female vocal, Alison Krauss, Sarah Jarosz, Norah Jones on DSD. I listen to a lot of modern bluegrass like Nickel Creek, Punch brothers, a lot of string stuff. And of course Jazz with Coltrane being my favorite, Miles Davis, Art Blakey trio etc.
For speakers I am looking at floor standing, my room is pretty big in a finished, conditioned basement concrete floor with laminate and large area rug in front of system. 17x25x9 ft ceiling, all drywall. I have ATS acoustic panels on the wall for first reflection points and ATS 24x35 4" bass traps on the walls behind the speakers.
My budget before any trade value from my B&W is ~$5k and I have to stick closely to it. At the top of my list are the Sonus Faber Sonetto V, Monitor Audio Gold 200 and a dealer not to far away sells Fyne F502SP. I heard Sonus Faber a number of years ago and was drawn to the sound especially for female vocal, it was not bright like the B&W, but smooth and rich. A SF dealer not to far away from me made me an offer to take my B&W's on trade and sell me a pair of brand new Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII in wenge finish for the balance of $5000. I did not have the Sonetto VIII on my list as they were out of my budget, but this offer seems pretty nice and I think the VIII's would fill my room more. Going later this week and weekend to do some listening.
Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations I should look at?
Thank you for your time and suggestions.
PrimaLuna EVO 300 integrated with Shunyata Venon NR V10 PC
Chord Qutest DAC
Innuos Zen mkIII streamer/server with Shunyata Venon NR V12 PC
Purist Audio Venustas Luminist revision bi-wire speaker cable
Cardas Clear Cygnus RCA IC
I don't have many CD's left as we had a break-in a couple years ago shortly after our home was finished and before the basement was finished and they took boxes of my CD's and SACD's. So instead of purchase a new CD player and CD's I got into streaming. I listen to a LOT of female vocal, Alison Krauss, Sarah Jarosz, Norah Jones on DSD. I listen to a lot of modern bluegrass like Nickel Creek, Punch brothers, a lot of string stuff. And of course Jazz with Coltrane being my favorite, Miles Davis, Art Blakey trio etc.
For speakers I am looking at floor standing, my room is pretty big in a finished, conditioned basement concrete floor with laminate and large area rug in front of system. 17x25x9 ft ceiling, all drywall. I have ATS acoustic panels on the wall for first reflection points and ATS 24x35 4" bass traps on the walls behind the speakers.
My budget before any trade value from my B&W is ~$5k and I have to stick closely to it. At the top of my list are the Sonus Faber Sonetto V, Monitor Audio Gold 200 and a dealer not to far away sells Fyne F502SP. I heard Sonus Faber a number of years ago and was drawn to the sound especially for female vocal, it was not bright like the B&W, but smooth and rich. A SF dealer not to far away from me made me an offer to take my B&W's on trade and sell me a pair of brand new Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII in wenge finish for the balance of $5000. I did not have the Sonetto VIII on my list as they were out of my budget, but this offer seems pretty nice and I think the VIII's would fill my room more. Going later this week and weekend to do some listening.
Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations I should look at?
Thank you for your time and suggestions.
30 responses Add your response
Did you ever make a choice? I'm curious as I am in a very similar situation. I want to upgrade my 30-year old system from Mission 70II bookcase speakers. My room is a similar size (16x29x9 1/2) The speakers would be on the short wall at one end of the room. Plaster walls, sheetrock ceiling. Somewhat reflective room-hardwoods, a few rugs, not a ton of upholstery and a baby grand piano. Speakers would go on each side of a fireplace with windows on each side. Looking at: Lumina V, Paradigm Founders F80 and Fyne Audio 501. Will need new amp. Listen to rock, jazz, lots of Beatles. |
I had Sonus faber Sonetto 3 and Olympica Nova 1 great speakers but moved them out for the Raven CeLest Tower. www.ravenaudio.com https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2020/12/04/the-best-floorstanding-speakers-buyers-guide-2021/?amp |
I cannot imagine you need a 300 watt/channel amp for any of the speakers noted herein. Here is one more (likely to go fast, based on the number of "watchers") you wish to ponder: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa834a-focal-kanta-no-2-full-range |
I really like Sonos Faber speakers. My only reservation in a room that big is that they are on the small side especially given the amount of power you have to drive them. Adding subwoofers would help if you are using them with a two way crossover. The recommended power for those speakers is 50-300 Watts You might want to consider listening to speakers that are more efficient upwards of 96 dB/watt/meter. I think Klipsch Cornwall IVs would fill that room nicely, you would have less trouble with room interaction because dispersion is limited and 42 watts will drive them to painful levels. But, whatever you are thinking of should be carefully auditioned with your amp I might add. The interface between an amp and speakers is I think much more important than it is given credit. The character of the sound can change rather dramatically due to impedance changes depending on the design of the amp. A good part of the reason you hear conflicting opinions of loudspeakers is because they were being driven by different amps. Any good dealer will allow you to plug up your amp. Always listen to a speaker with the amp you are going to use, always. The program source makes relatively little difference. Good Luck and enjoy your new room! |
As stated here: you will need a good SS amp with a min of 300W rms. With your speaker choices, you need adequate power to get the best sound. tou don’t want to u derpower such wicked speakers as your choices. Many will tell you a 100 or 125W integrated is enough. don’t believe the hype. get a very good amplifier, or a good pair of monoblocs for those speakers. those Sonetto speakers are very nice, congrats. they need a nice power amp to be able to do what they do best. Under powering leads to more blown drivers and issues than “having the proper power and headroom” enjoy your search. 300W !! Min. |
The monitor audio gold 200 Gen 5 sound incredible. I had the 300s in my home and they floored me how good they were but I finally settled on the platinum 200 Gen 2.I can't believe how big a jump they made from the Gen 4 to the Gen 5. the Gen 5 is about 80 to 85% of the platinum series. That AMT tweeter is phenomenal sounding very three-dimensional accurate and warm |
The monitor audio gold 200 generation 5 sounds phenomenal. I had the 300 in my home and they were incredible sounding but I finally settled on the platinum 200 Gen 2. The new gold Gen 5 is about 80 to 85% of the platinum, I was absolutely floored at how big of a jump they made from the generation 4. That amt tweeter is incredible, very three-dimensional and open everything sounds very natural. |
I own the Sonetto Vs and use a SS amp with 300 watts of power so I can't speak to your specific integrated amp. I love the Sonetto Vs. I don't think they are hard to drive (after all they are 90 db) and I would encourage you to give them a listen. I have not heard the Sonetto VIIIs so I can't speak to them. I have heard the Olympia Nova IIs and they are $10k and a significant improvement over the Sonetto Vs in all ways. (I heard them with an Audio Research integrated amp). Prior to the Sonetto's I had the Sonus faber Venere 3.0 and they replaced my Mission speakers I had for 20 years. Good luck with your endeavor. |
Some Tannoys would go great with the prima luna. They respond well to tubes. However, in looking at your budget, Tannoys may well exceed it. To save money, yet still get great sound, I’d be looking at a pair of wharfedale lintons with stands...about $1500. They have rave reviews everywhere, go very well with tubes, sound great and look great. Take the money you save and buy more music or grab a nice pair of auditorium 23’s speaker cables to go with the lintons. There is a great review of the lintons at tone audio. They will certainly sound different than the B&W. |
Primalunas have a lot of grunt. I have the Evo 400 amp and it is a great match with Salk Songtower speakers. Even when I had the Dialogue Premium with 4 less tubes...no problems at all. I would highly recommend Salk speakers. Very pleasing and organic sound. They have a wide range of speakers and I will most likely upgrade up the line in the near future. The finish quality is very high across the lineup. As a brand/line, they're not super efficient...nor are they inefficient. They're relatively easy to drive for most modestly powered amps. |
The Primaluna has no problem at all driving the B&W's, in fact I got more bass out of the speakers when I switched from my old Classe Audio separates and went to the Primaluna and SF are more efficient than the B&W. The one dealer I was looking at is driving a pair of Sonetto V's with my EVO 300 amp in their showroom. I think everyone underestimates the PrimaLuna's 60 lbs toroids. |
I listen to very similar music as you do and did the speaker search a few years ago. I settled on the Vienna Acoustic Liszt speakers which are out of your budget range. When I was at the last RMAF, I was quite taken by the Fyne speakers. They are high efficiency and would recommend a listen. Also don't rule out a demo pair to save some money and move up the line with your budget. As a side note I heard the Zu and Tekton offerings at RMAF and I though they sounded "hifi", just my opinion. |
I did the same thing you did last year after owning B&Ws 800s for about 18 years. The important thing is to listen to as many speakers as possible that check off your requirements, and perhaps, something may surprise as you give a good listen. I made road trips and went to shows (most pre COVID and some during COVID) to visit others who had speakers I had an interest in. I had listened to Avant-garde, Klipschorn, Klipsch Jubilee, Classic Audio Loudspeakers, Legacy Aeris, Spatial Audio and others that escape me. Of all the listening tests I did, none were as good as or compared to what I heard with the Classic Audio Loudspeakers T1.5 reference. It was by chance that I was able to snag a demo pair after I sold the 800s. Make sure your amp is up to the efficiency requirements of whatever speakers you decide on. My speakers are extremely large and efficient. With the field coil 18” deep bass and 15” inch mid bass drivers, field coil compression horn and tweeter, it’s simply amazing. It helped inform my decision by listening to a variety of speakers and knowing what type of sound I was looking for. Been listening to stereos since early 70s, so my ears are somewhat seasoned to what I like and dislike in a speaker. Good luck. |
I heard the Sonus fabers setup at a local deal and would find a way to get those in my system. They sounded lovely and are beautiful as well. I agree the PL might be underpowered but see if you can take it to the shop for a demo then you'll know for sure. Might be worthwhile to upgrade that as well if your dealer can work a good deal on a trade. Good luck! |
You amp is severely underpowered for the speakers you have and those Sonus Fabers. You will find that a better match will radically improve bass performance. I would check out: Zu Audio Soul Supreme - Killer speaker and very exciting/dynamic. Will be driven well by your amp. Tekton - Not the most attractive speakers in the world but will deliver big sound for you. If you would like to read a positive review just look for any post by millercarbon. Paradigm Prestige 95F- this will be bright like your B&Ws but technologically is a step forward and is a lovely speaker. I am a dealer but have no affiliation with any of the brands mentioned. I personally would go with Zu but my hunch is you will like the Paradigms more aesthetically. Good luck |
